Quick Facts
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Original number: Ghana began independence in 1957 with five regions: Ashanti, Northern, Eastern, Western and Volta .
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The change: In 2019, six new regions were created, bringing the total from 10 to 16 .
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Legal basis: Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution empowers the President to create new regions following petitions and a commission of inquiry .
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The vote: A referendum was held on 27 December 2018 across the proposed areas. All six regions met the required threshold of 50% turnout and 80% approval .
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The new regions: Oti, Savannah, North East, Bono East, Ahafo and Western North .
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Seed funding: Each new region received GH¢20 million as initial capital for take-off .
The Long Road to Sixteen
Ghana’s regions were never static. The country started with five in 1957, and over the following decades, more were carved out as population grew and administrative needs changed. By the 1980s, the number had reached ten, a structure that held for more than thirty years .
But the demand for more regions did not disappear. Communities in the northern stretches of the Western Region complained that the regional capital, Sekondi-Takoradi, was a full day’s journey away. Residents in the northern parts of the Northern Region said the distance to Tamale made access to government services difficult. Similar concerns were raised in the Volta Region and the old Brong Ahafo Region.
The petitions, as the official instruments record, came from “many citizens and traditional rulers” demanding the creation of new regions. The Gonja Traditional Council, for instance, had been pushing for a Savannah Region for years, and the people of Ahafo had been petitioning successive governments for over four decades.
The Constitutional Pathway
Creating a region in Ghana is not a matter of presidential decree alone. Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution sets out a structured process that must be followed.
It begins with a petition. Citizens or traditional authorities present a formal demand to the President. The President then refers the petition to the Council of State for advice. If the Council advises that there is a need and substantial demand, the President appoints a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the matter .
In 2017, after receiving petitions from several regions, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo followed this path. He appointed the Commission of Inquiry into the Creation of New Regions, chaired by Justice S.A. Brobbey, to examine the demands and make recommendations .
The Commission held public hearings, sampled opinions, and identified eight key drivers behind the requests: spatial extent, access to government services, road infrastructure, education, health, cultural and ethnic factors, governance and participation, and economic opportunities.
The Referendum and the Overwhelming “Yes”
The Commission’s report, delivered in June 2018, concluded that there was substantial demand and need. That set the stage for the referendum of 27 December 2018.
The results were emphatic. In all six proposed regions, the “Yes” vote exceeded 98%, with Ahafo recording the highest approval at 99.68% and a turnout of 90.41% . The Savannah Region, where former President John Dramani Mahama cast his vote, recorded 99.52% approval. The Oti Region, which had the highest “No” vote of any area, still saw 98.64% approve the creation .
The Electoral Commission declared that all six regions met the constitutional threshold: at least 50% voter turnout and at least 80% approval.
Why the Distances Mattered
The spatial argument was central to the entire exercise. A peer-reviewed study published through the International Federation of Surveyors analysed the impact of the reorganisation on travel distances to regional capitals.
The findings were striking. Across the affected regions, the average travel distance to the regional capital decreased by 50.2% – a reduction of 62.4 kilometres on average. The reductions ranged from 8.6 kilometres to 129.3 kilometres, depending on the area .
For residents of Oseikojokrom in the old Western Region, the journey to Sekondi-Takoradi was roughly 380 kilometres. After the creation of the Western North Region, their new capital, Sefwi Wiawso, was far closer .
The study noted that long distances did not just affect citizens seeking services. Government officials conducting monitoring and supervision also bore the cost. Regional coordinators reported that travel consumed significant portions of their limited budgets – funds that could have gone to development projects.
The Political Dimension
Both major political parties had promised new regions in their 2016 manifestos. The New Patriotic Party committed to six; the National Democratic Congress proposed five. When the NPP won the election, it proceeded with the process.
The referendum itself was notable for the degree of cross-party cooperation it inspired. In the Western North, observers reported seeing NPP and NDC MPs campaigning together, chiefs and religious leaders from different faiths adding their voices, and communities donating cash, vehicles and transportation services to support the vote.
President Akufo-Addo rejected suggestions that the exercise was designed to buy votes or serve partisan ends. “The creation of Oti Region and indeed the other five regions gives the nation another opportunity to reorganize the distribution of public services and infrastructure to serve better the needs of people from these new regions,” he said at the presentation of the Oti Region’s Constitutional Instrument .
What the New Regions Received
The creation of a region is not just a matter of drawing boundaries. Each new region needed a capital, administrative structures, and seed funding.
President Akufo-Addo named the capitals: Damongo for Savannah, Nalerigu for North East, Techiman for Bono East, Goaso for Ahafo, Sefwi Wiawso for Western North, and Dambai for Oti.
Each region received GH¢20 million as seed capital to support the establishment of infrastructure for a smooth take-off . Caretaker ministers were appointed from the existing regional ministers to oversee the transition until substantive ministers were named.
Debates and Dissenting Views
Not everyone agreed that more regions meant more development. Writing for Starr FM, one commentator argued that the creation of regions is “only at a level of Deconcentration, which is the weakest form of administrative decentralization” . He noted that the Upper Regions had been divided decades earlier, yet that division had not automatically produced development. The link between creating regions and spurring development, he argued, “has no empirical bases”.
A study in an academic journal quoted Professor Gyampo describing the recent creation as “unnecessary and a mere political luxury,” suggesting that implementing other flagship programmes could achieve development without restructuring regions .
A Graphic editorial acknowledged the long-standing desire of the affected communities but emphasised that the real work lay ahead. “The creation of the new regions has been the desire of the people of the affected regions for years because of their desire to ensure the rapid development of their areas,” it wrote. But it added a caution: the benefits would only materialise if the regions were properly resourced and administered.
The Sixteen Today
Ghana now has sixteen administrative regions: Ahafo, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, North East, Northern, Oti, Savannah, Upper East, Upper West, Volta, Western, and Western North.
The reorganisation was the first attempt to create new regions under the 1992 Constitution . It followed the constitutional path: petitions, Council of State advice, Commission of Inquiry, and referendum. The process was slow, consultative and, by the standards of the results, broadly popular.
Whether the sixteen-region structure delivers the balanced development its advocates promised depends on what happens next. The boundaries have changed. The capitals have been named. The seed money has been allocated. The harder work – building the schools, hospitals, roads and administrative capacity that make a region function – is ongoing.
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Ghana have 16 regions?
Ghana moved from 10 to 16 regions in 2019, following a referendum held on 27 December 2018 .
What are the six new regions in Ghana?
The new regions are Oti (capital: Dambai), Savannah (Damongo), North East (Nalerigu), Bono East (Techiman), Ahafo (Goaso), and Western North (Sefwi Wiawso) .
Why did Ghana create new regions?
The primary drivers were spatial extent and access to government services. Many communities were hundreds of kilometres from their regional capitals, making access to services difficult and costly .
What is the legal process for creating a region in Ghana?
Article 5 of the 1992 Constitution requires a petition, advice from the Council of State, a Commission of Inquiry, and a referendum in the affected area with at least 50% turnout and 80% approval .
Which regions were divided to create the new ones?
The Northern Region was divided to create Savannah and North East. The Brong Ahafo Region was divided to create Bono East and Ahafo. The Western Region gave birth to Western North, and the Volta Region to Oti.
Did the referendum meet the required threshold?
Yes. All six proposed regions recorded turnouts well above 50% and “Yes” votes above 98% .
How much seed money did the new regions receive?
Each of the six new regions received GH¢20 million as seed capital for development and take-off .
What is the largest and smallest region in Ghana now?
The Savannah Region is the largest by land area, having replaced the old Northern Region. Greater Accra remains the smallest.
What to Remember
Ghana’s journey from five regions to sixteen was not a sudden decision. It followed decades of petitions, a constitutional process involving the Council of State and a Commission of Inquiry, and a referendum that produced overwhelming approval across all six proposed areas.
The core argument was practical: distances to regional capitals were too long, and access to government services suffered as a result. The research confirms that the reorganisation significantly reduced travel distances for many communities .
But creating a region is only the first step. The seed money has been allocated, the capitals named, the ministers appointed. Whether the sixteen-region structure delivers on its promise of balanced development depends on what comes next – the schools, hospitals, roads and administrative capacity that turn a boundary on a map into a functioning centre of governance.
Source: The Accra Daily Mail
Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of The Accra Daily Mail, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.
